Decision Letter
Submission Number: 12510
Decision Date: January 13, 2025
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: LIngjie Kong
Student Email: 20lk21@queensu.ca
Course: CLST 150
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: CLST 200
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: HIST 109
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: HIST 228
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: HIST 242
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: PHIL 233
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: CHEM 281
Term: Summer
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: BCHM 218
Term: Summer
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Jasmine:
Thank you for your petition request to drop CLST 150, CLST 200, HIST 109, HIST 228, HIST 242, PHIL 233 (W24), BCHM 218 and CHEM 281 (S24) past the academic deadline. I have carefully reviewed your petition and the supporting documentation that you supplied, and while I’m unable to grant your requests, I want to assure you that I’ve taken your circumstances into account as part of this decision.
As you know, courses must be dropped in SOLUS within the deadlines outlined in the academic calendar. According to the Academic Petitions and Appeal Regulations 1.1, petitions and appeals are typically considered only when there are significant extenuating circumstances that justify waiving a particular Faculty regulation or decision. The integrity of Arts and Science transcripts in general would be greatly diminished if the Faculty were to effect changes to students’ records without clear and compelling documentation indicating that the student’s performance was significantly compromised by circumstances beyond their control.
I do acknowledge the health-related extenuating circumstances that you had written about within your petition letter however, the timeline and academic impacts of this circumstance during the terms that you are petitioning from is not clear within the documentation that you supplied. I acknowledge that the documentation indicates that extenuating circumstances began in the 2023 Fall term, and that you were receiving support from Student Wellness Services since April of 2023 however it does not speak to a new, unexpected circumstance during the 2024 Winter or 2024 Summer terms. I want to let you know that the petition process is not meant to be used to manage a chronic condition. Academic impacts from ongoing circumstances should be managed proactively by utilizing options such as academic consideration or accommodations through Queen’s Student Accessibility Services (QSAS).
It is the student’s responsibility to pause and evaluate the impact of extenuating circumstances on their classes prior to the drop deadline of the term. If they have fallen behind in a course or find the material too difficult, they should drop the course by deadline. The drop deadlines, as they have been outlined in the “Important Dates” section on the Arts and Science web page, have been established by the Faculty of Arts and Science to ensure fair and equitable treatment of all students.
Going forward, I would suggest that you consider registering with Queen’s Student Accessibility Services (QSAS) if you have not done so already, so that you obtain ongoing support from an Accessibility Advisor who can help manage the ongoing impacts of your health on your academics.
If you are concerned about the impact that these courses have on your GPA, I would suggest that you consider repeating them in a future term. When repeating the exact same course code, both attempts will appear on your transcript however, only the higher grade will be included within the calculation of your cumulative GPA.
Additionally, if you wish to appeal this decision, you are welcome to submit an appeal to the Board of Studies. Information on the appeal process and deadlines is available at queensu.ca/artsci/undergraduate/student-services/academic-petitions-and-appeals (click on “Second Level”). The Office of the University Ombudsperson offers guidance on student rights and procedural fairness at queensu.ca/ombuds/appeal-process/procedural-fairness, and they are also available to support you at queensu.ca/ombuds.
I hope that you continue to seek out the support and resources available to you, and I wish you the best in navigating your next steps.
Warm regards,
Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Academic)
Decision Date: January 13, 2025
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: LIngjie Kong
Student Email: 20lk21@queensu.ca
Course: CLST 150
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: CLST 200
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: HIST 109
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: HIST 228
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: HIST 242
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: PHIL 233
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: CHEM 281
Term: Summer
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: BCHM 218
Term: Summer
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Jasmine:
Thank you for your petition request to drop CLST 150, CLST 200, HIST 109, HIST 228, HIST 242, PHIL 233 (W24), BCHM 218 and CHEM 281 (S24) past the academic deadline. I have carefully reviewed your petition and the supporting documentation that you supplied, and while I’m unable to grant your requests, I want to assure you that I’ve taken your circumstances into account as part of this decision.
As you know, courses must be dropped in SOLUS within the deadlines outlined in the academic calendar. According to the Academic Petitions and Appeal Regulations 1.1, petitions and appeals are typically considered only when there are significant extenuating circumstances that justify waiving a particular Faculty regulation or decision. The integrity of Arts and Science transcripts in general would be greatly diminished if the Faculty were to effect changes to students’ records without clear and compelling documentation indicating that the student’s performance was significantly compromised by circumstances beyond their control.
I do acknowledge the health-related extenuating circumstances that you had written about within your petition letter however, the timeline and academic impacts of this circumstance during the terms that you are petitioning from is not clear within the documentation that you supplied. I acknowledge that the documentation indicates that extenuating circumstances began in the 2023 Fall term, and that you were receiving support from Student Wellness Services since April of 2023 however it does not speak to a new, unexpected circumstance during the 2024 Winter or 2024 Summer terms. I want to let you know that the petition process is not meant to be used to manage a chronic condition. Academic impacts from ongoing circumstances should be managed proactively by utilizing options such as academic consideration or accommodations through Queen’s Student Accessibility Services (QSAS).
It is the student’s responsibility to pause and evaluate the impact of extenuating circumstances on their classes prior to the drop deadline of the term. If they have fallen behind in a course or find the material too difficult, they should drop the course by deadline. The drop deadlines, as they have been outlined in the “Important Dates” section on the Arts and Science web page, have been established by the Faculty of Arts and Science to ensure fair and equitable treatment of all students.
Going forward, I would suggest that you consider registering with Queen’s Student Accessibility Services (QSAS) if you have not done so already, so that you obtain ongoing support from an Accessibility Advisor who can help manage the ongoing impacts of your health on your academics.
If you are concerned about the impact that these courses have on your GPA, I would suggest that you consider repeating them in a future term. When repeating the exact same course code, both attempts will appear on your transcript however, only the higher grade will be included within the calculation of your cumulative GPA.
Additionally, if you wish to appeal this decision, you are welcome to submit an appeal to the Board of Studies. Information on the appeal process and deadlines is available at queensu.ca/artsci/undergraduate/student-services/academic-petitions-and-appeals (click on “Second Level”). The Office of the University Ombudsperson offers guidance on student rights and procedural fairness at queensu.ca/ombuds/appeal-process/procedural-fairness, and they are also available to support you at queensu.ca/ombuds.
I hope that you continue to seek out the support and resources available to you, and I wish you the best in navigating your next steps.
Warm regards,
Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Academic)
Generated January 13, 2025 at 11:47:19 AM.